Brian O'Shea
Question:143 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the Government's policy regarding GM food; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20976/02]
Vol. 556 No. 5
143 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children the Government's policy regarding GM food; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20976/02]
The Deputy will appreciate that a number of Departments have responsibilities in regard to genetically modified organisms. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has responsibility for developments in the biotechnology industry. The Department of Agriculture and Food has responsibility for proposed EU legislation on genetically modified animal feed and legislation on seed varieties which are in the process of being amended to take account of developments in gene technology. The Department of the Environment and Local Government is responsible for environmental issues in relation to GMOs. With regard to issues which fall within the remit of my Department, I should point out that policy in respect of genetically modified food is developed on an EU-wide basis. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland is the competent authority in Ireland for the enforcement of EU legislation regarding the genetic modification of foodstuffs.
Four European regulations are currently in force. Regulation (EC) 258/97 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients was steered through EU discussion by the Department of Agriculture and Food. This regulation provides for the mandatory labelling of foods and food ingredients which contain or consist of a GMO, without prejudice to the other labelling requirements of community law. The current GM labelling system as set out in this regulation is based on the detectability of genetically modified DNA or protein of GM origin in the final food product. In practice, this means that highly processed foodstuffs produced from GM material, such as highly refined oils from soya or maize, do not currently need to be labelled as long as GM DNA or protein are not detectable. The current labelling requirements for foods derived from a GMO but no longer containing the GMO are based on the concept of substantial equivalence. The labelling and other provisions of Regulation 258/97 as outlined above do not apply to foods or food ingredients which were used for human consumption to a significant degree within the Community before the entry into force of the regulation on 15 May 1997 and are not therefore considered to be novel.